Dare has decided to write sleeve notes for the Noctorum albums, reminisces of the how, why, when, and where of the four albums we made together under the Noctorum moniker. You can find the story of the first album Sparks Lane on the Noctorum website, see link below. Having known each other since when we were kids it was about time that Dare and I had a band together. He had worked on most of my solo projects and the ex-band’s Sometime Anywhere (1994). We figure we might have known each other for nearly sixty years and that’s because our parents knew each other through work. We never went to the same primary school or secondary modern (or grammar school in Dare’s case) but the music connection kept us together as it often does. Check out Sparks Lane and there will be more sleeve notes coming. (By the way, there is no apostrophe in ‘Sparks’.)

This from Dare:

“In 2022 I received a test pressing of our first album, Sparks Lane, first released in 2002. It was due to come out on vinyl and my job was to check that the pressing was up to scratch. As I was listening through, it brought back fond memories of the time Marty and I spent recording those songs. That’s when the idea came to me – perhaps people would be interested in hearing the story of how we recorded these albums? After all, back in the old days, every LP would have sleeve notes on the back cover and part of the pleasure of listening to a new record would be to read them. I suppose they became outdated and unfashionable when pop and rock arrived in the 60s.

So now is your chance to sit back, relax and listen again while you read the sleeve notes. We hope it will give you a deeper insight into the world of Marty and myself as the entity known as Noctorum – how we wrote the songs, our recording methods and along the way, I will introduce you to the supporting cast of friends, musicians, artists, technicians and business people that helped us to realise our musical ambitions.”

Read the Missing Sleeve Notes: SPARKS LANE here